Joining In

When you’re a kid one of your worst fears is to be excluded from a group. We want desperately to be approved of, cared for, and connected with other human beings. We feel validated when we are asked to join in on whatever activity is going on, especially if it’s something that we want to be a part of.

 

It’s funny how not much changes when we get older. The stakes may be higher and the exclusions commenced under a greater pretense of politeness, but really, we still want to feel like we belong – like we are part of the “cool crowd.”  We want to feel like we are a part of something that’s important.

Yet for the Christian we know that the truly important things are not things of this world but things of Heaven. So we may feel that we can’t join in on what matters, that we have to wait until another time when we will be in our Heavenly home.

Except that we can. Because the business of heaven is worshiping God. However imperfect and faulted this world may be, we can still set our hearts and minds upon bringing Him praise. Not just through music (although that is certainly one great way to worship), but through how we live.

And perhaps this is even greater encouragement for those who have a loved one who has already gone to be with the Lord. Although it can feel like there is a great divide between us and them, we can participate in the same thing that they are doing- praising our King. We don’t have to wait until we are there with them – we can begin giving Him adoration and honor now.

So let us add our own voices to the heavenly chorus. Let our lives be focused on the same thing of those who are enjoying eternal life. Let us join in worshiping our Lord.

 

For a great song that touches on this, check out Sovereign Grace’s The Glories of Calvary [affiliate link].

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Joyfully Patient

There aren’t many people who are really good at waiting.

Sure, some of us are better than others, but when it comes to something we really want, something we’re really interested in, almost all of us watch the clock, count down the days, or stare at the inbox, hoping that our persistence will speed up the process.

We don’t like waiting.

Yet life is full of it.

And Scripture is full of instruction that a Christian who is waiting should look substantially different from a non-Christian.

– We are told to be anxious for nothing.

– We are told to wait on the Lord (not on luck, good fortune, or the passing of time.)

– We are told to wait thankfully.

And this can seem like an impossible task.

We will it to happen and yet it doesn’t. We try hard, yet it still seems evasive. We want to be joyful AND patient, but it seems like an antithetical combination.

Until we realize, it’s not in our own power to do so.

As Colossians 1:11 reminds us, it’s His power that gives us the ability to be patient with joy.

– His strength gives us the fortitude.

– His might gives us confidence.

– His sovereignty assures us that the future is under control…His control.

So just as we know we need Him to endure to the end, so we must rely on Him to be patient until the end gets here.

And because of Him, that patience can be filled with joy.

Because we know what we’re waiting for.

 

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